SSIBLE BYGENERAL MOTORS Man: THESE TWO WOMEN, SITTING TOGETHER IN THEIR PARLORS, HAVE BEEN DILIGENT FORGERS OF ALL MANNER OF PROJECTILES, FROM FIREWORKS TO THUNDERBOLTS, AND HAVE HURLED THEM WITH UNEXPECTED EXPLOSION INTO THE MIDST OF ALL MANNER OF ASSEMBLIES, SOMETIMES TO THE PLEASANT SURPRISE AND HALF-WELCOME OF THE MEMBERS; MORE OFTEN TO THE BEWILDERMENT AND PROSTRATION OF NUMEROUS VICTIMS; AND, IN A FEW SINGLE INSTANCES, TO THE GNASHING OF ANGRY MEN'S TEETH.
THIS NOISEMAKING TWAIN ARE THE TWO STICKS OF A DRUM, KEEPING UP WHAT DANIEL WEBSTER CALLED, "THE RUB-A-DUB-DUB OF AGITATION."
THEODORE TILTON.
Narrator: FOR NEARLY TWO DECADES, ELIZABETH CADY STANTON AND SUSAN B. ANTHONY HAD FOUGHT TIRELESSLY TO FREE AMERICAN WOMEN FROM THE "CULT OF TRUE WOMANHOOD"-- THE SUFFOCATING CUSTOMS AND OPPRESSIVE LAWS THAT KEPT WOMEN POWERLESS AND CONFINED TO THE HOME AND FAMILY.
IN THE YEARS AFTER THE 1848 SENECA FALLS CONVENTION, THE WOMEN'S RIGHTS MOVEMENT HAD MADE SOME PROGRESS, BUT THE VOTE, WHICH THEY BELIEVED WAS THE KEY TO IMPROVING THE LIVES OF WOMEN, CONTINUED TO ELUDE THEM.
WHEN THE CIVIL WAR BROUGHT THE VOTE ONLY TO BLACK MEN, STANTON AND ANTHONY REACTED WITH ANGER, ALIENATING THEM FROM MANY OF THEIR OLD ALLIES.
DISAPPOINTED BY AMENDMENTS TO THE CONSTITUTION THAT CREATED NEW OBSTACLES FOR THEIR CAUSE, ABANDONED BY THEIR MALE COMRADES IN THE REFORM MOVEMENTS TO WHICH THEY HAD DEDICATED SO MUCH OF THEIR EARLY LIVES, THE TWO WOMEN DECIDED TO FORM THEIR OWN ORGANIZATION-- THE NATIONAL WOMAN SUFFRAGE ASSOCIATION-- AND GIVE UP WHAT STANTON CALLED "THE COUNSELS OF MEN" FOREVER.
IN THE YEARS TO COME, AS THE COUNTRY GREW IN WAYS NO ONE COULD HAVE IMAGINED, STANTON AND ANTHONY WOULD FIND THEMSELVES AT WAR WITH CONSERVATIVE WOMEN OVER QUESTIONS OF POLITICAL STRATEGY, THE ROLE OF RELIGION, AND THE UNRESOLVED QUESTION OF RACE.
BUT THE SAME ISSUES THAT DIVIDED THE MOVEMENT BEGAN TO AFFECT THEIR RELATIONSHIP AS WELL, AND THE TWO OLD FRIENDS WOULD OFTEN FIND THEMSELVES AT ODDS WITH ONE ANOTHER.
Woman: LIKE ANY LONG-TERM RELATIONSHIP, IT HAS ITS UPS AND DOWNS.
THEY HAVE QUARRELS, THEY HAVE GRUDGES, BUT THEY MANAGED TO WORK TOGETHER AND HAVE TERRIFIC RESPECT FOR EACH OTHER OVER A REMARKABLY LONG PERIOD OF TIME, AND THEY MANAGED TO CHANGE THE DIRECTION OF AMERICAN HISTORY.
Narrator: IN EARLY 1868, STANTON AND ANTHONY PUT OUT A NEWSPAPER CALLED THE REVOLUTION.
ANTHONY WAS PUBLISHER AND MADE SURE THAT EVEN THE TYPESETTING WAS DONE BY WOMEN.
STANTON WROTE THE EDITORIALS.
Woman: DEAR SUSAN, YOU AND I HAVE NOT FORGOTTEN THE CONFLICT OF THE LAST 20 YEARS-- THE RIDICULE, PERSECUTION, DENUNCIATION, DETRACTION, THE UNMIXED BITTERNESS OF OUR CUP FOR THE PAST TWO YEARS, WHEN EVEN FRIENDS CRUCIFIED US.
A JOURNAL CALLED THE ROSEBUD MIGHT ANSWER FOR THOSE WHO COME WITH KID GLOVES AND PERFUMES TO LAY IMMORTAL WREATHS ON THE MONUMENTS WHICH, IN SWEAT AND TEARS, OTHERS HAVE HEWN AND BUILT; BUT FOR US, THERE IS NO NAME LIKE THE REVOLUTION.
ELIZABETH CADY STANTON.
Gordon: IT HAD A NATIONAL DISTRIBUTION, IT HAD EUROPEAN CORRESPONDENTS, IT HAD SOME OF THE LEADING LITERARY WOMEN OF THE ERA CONTRIBUTING TO IT.
IT CARRIED REMARKABLE NEWS ABOUT THE LITTLE THINGS THAT WERE HAPPENING IN WOMEN'S LIVES ALL ACROSS THE COUNTRY.
IF THE NEW POSTMISTRESS GETS APPOINTED IN AN AREA WHERE POSTMISTRESSES HAD NEVER EXISTED BEFORE, THAT'LL BE THERE.
IF A WOMAN SCIENTIST ACCOMPLISHES SOMETHING, THAT WILL BE IN THE REVOLUTION.
IT'S A WONDERFUL MIX OF POLITICAL, CULTURAL NEWS BY AND ABOUT WOMEN AND IS QUITE A REMARKABLE NEWSPAPER BY ANY STANDARD.
Narrator: BOTH WOMEN DELIGHTED IN THE REVOLUTION, AND IT BROUGHT NEW MEMBERS TO THEIR NATIONAL ASSOCIATION.
BUT THE PAPER FAILED 2 1/2 YEARS LATER, BROUGHT DOWN IN PART BY THE SUCCESS OF THE WOMAN'S JOURNAL, PUBLISHED BY THEIR BITTER RIVAL LUCY STONE AND HER AMERICAN ASSOCIATION.
Woman: I FEEL A GREAT, CALM SADNESS LIKE THAT OF A MOTHER BINDING OUT A DEAR CHILD SHE COULD NOT SUPPORT...
BUT I HAVE THE JOY OF KNOWING THAT I SHOWED THE THING POSSIBLE-- TO PUBLISH A LIVE, OUT-AND-OUT WOMAN'S PAPER, TAUGHT OTHER WOMEN TO INVEST, TO ENTER IN AND REAP WHEN I HAD SOWN-- SOWN IN FAITH, TOO, SUCH AS NO CANTING PRIEST OR ECHOING FOLLOWER EVER DREAMED OF.
SUSAN B. ANTHONY.
VARIOUS SUFFRAGISTS REALIZED THAT ALTHOUGH THEY HAD LOST IN THE LEGISLATURE, THEY MIGHT STILL WIN IN THE COURTS.
THEY BEGAN TO DEVELOP WHAT I THINK IS A REALLY FASCINATING AND INTERESTING STRATEGY, BY WHICH THEY ARGUED THAT THE 14th AMENDMENT, PROPERLY UNDERSTOOD, ACTUALLY ENFRANCHISED WOMEN.
THE 14th AMENDMENT SAYS, "ALL PERSONS BORN OR NATURALIZED IN THE UNITED STATES ARE CITIZENS THEREOF."
VERY SIMPLE, STRAIGHTFORWARD, UNQUALIFIED STATEMENT.
AND ON THIS BASIS, THEY UNDERTOOK VARIOUS ACTIONS INTENDED TO GET THEM BEFORE THE COURTS.
Narrator: ON NOVEMBER 1, 1872, SUSAN B. ANTHONY AND HER 3 SISTERS ARRIVED AT THE ROCHESTER BARBER SHOP IN WHICH TWO REGISTRARS SAT WAITING TO SIGN UP VOTERS.
ANTHONY SPOKE FOR ALL THE WOMEN.
SHE DEMANDED TO BE REGISTERED, AND WHEN THE MEN-- ALL OF THEM YOUNG ENOUGH TO BE HER SONS, SHE REMEMBERED-- NERVOUSLY REFUSED, SHE THREATENED TO SUE EACH OF THEM FOR DAMAGES.
ANTHONY WAS FOLLOWING A CAREFULLY PLANNED NATIONAL STRATEGY DESIGNED TO PLACE THE ISSUE OF WOMAN SUFFRAGE BEFORE THE COURTS.
SHE AND HER SISTERS ASSUMED THEY WOULD BE TURNED AWAY, ALLOWING THEM TO SUE THE FEDERAL GOVERNMENT, THEN TAKE THEIR CASE, IF NEED BE, ALL THE WAY TO THE SUPREME COURT.
BUT UNEXPECTEDLY, THE REGISTRARS GAVE IN.
THE NAMES OF THE ANTHONY SISTERS WERE ADDED TO THE ROCHESTER VOTER LIST.
THE ELECTION CAME 4 DAYS LATER.
Woman: ROCHESTER, NOVEMBER 5, 1872.
DEAR MRS. STANTON, WELL, I HAVE BEEN AND GONE AND DONE IT!!
POSITIVELY VOTED THE REPUBLICAN TICKET--STRAIGHT-- THIS A.M. AT 7:00.
SO WE ARE IN FOR A FINE AGITATION IN ROCHESTER.
AFFECTIONATELY YOURS, SUSAN B. ANTHONY.
Narrator: ANTHONY'S DARING MADE HEADLINES ALL OVER THE COUNTRY, BUT NO ONE IN THE WOMAN'S MOVEMENT KNEW PRECISELY WHAT WOULD HAPPEN NEXT, AND FOR MORE THAN 3 WEEKS, THE GOVERNMENT DID NOTHING.
THEN A UNITED STATES MARSHAL CAME TO THE ANTHONY FAMILY HOUSE AT 17 MADISON STREET IN ROCHESTER.
HE HAD A WARRANT.
THE CHARGE WAS "KNOWINGLY, WRONGFULLY, AND UNLAWFULLY VOTING FOR A REPRESENTATIVE TO THE CONGRESS OF THE UNITED STATES."
Barnum: AND HE WAS ESCORTED INTO THE FRONT PARLOR.
WHEN SUSAN B. ANTHONY CAME DOWN, HE WAS VERY EMBARRASSED.
SHE WAS 52 YEARS OLD.
SHE'D BEEN SPEAKING AROUND THE COUNTRY, WAS VERY WELL-KNOWN, AND HE WAS THERE TO ARREST THIS LADY.
Narrator: THE MARSHAL WAS ELABORATELY POLITE.
THERE WAS NO HURRY, HE SAID.
WHEN MISS ANTHONY HAD A MOMENT, THE UNITED STATES COMMISSIONER WOULD BE GRATEFUL IF SHE WOULD COME BY HIS OFFICE.
ANTHONY WOULD HEAR OF NO SPECIAL TREATMENT.
SHE THEN MADE HIM COOL HIS HEELS DOWNSTAIRS WHILE SHE WENT UPSTAIRS AND CHANGED HER CLOTHES.
SHE WANTED TO BE DRESSED PROPERLY FOR THIS EVENT.
SHE CAME DOWNSTAIRS, AND SHE THRUST HER WRISTS OUT AT HIM, AND SHE SAID, "HANDCUFFS."
Barnum: SHE SAID, "IF YOU BELIEVE THAT I AM A COMMON CRIMINAL "BECAUSE I VOTED AS AN AMERICAN CITIZEN, YOU CAN HANDCUFF ME AND TAKE ME DOWNTOWN YOURSELF."
WELL, HE DIDN'T WANT TO DO THAT, REALLY.
HE DIDN'T HANDCUFF HER, BUT HE DID TAKE HER DOWNTOWN.
AND THEY DIDN'T HAVE POLICE CARS, SO THEY WENT DOWN TO THE CORNER TO TAKE THE TROLLEY.
Sherr: AND WHEN THEY GOT ON THE STREETCAR, SHE CONTINUED TO MAKE HER POINT, BECAUSE THE STREETCAR CONDUCTOR CAME OVER AND ASKED FOR THE FARE.
MISS ANTHONY, IN THE LOUDEST VOICE POSSIBLE, SO EVERYONE IN THE STREETCAR WOULD HEAR, SAID, "I AM TRAVELING AT THE EXPENSE OF THE FEDERAL GOVERNMENT.
HE WILL PAY MY FARE."
Narrator: ANTHONY REMEMBERED THAT THE OFFICE IN WHICH THE UNITED STATES COMMISSIONER QUESTIONED HER WAS THE SAME "DINGY ROOM WHERE FUGITIVE SLAVES WERE EXAMINED AND RETURNED TO THEIR MASTERS."
SHE WAS RELEASED, AND HER TRIAL WAS SET FOR THE FOLLOWING JUNE.
Sherr: IT WAS DETERMINED THAT SHE WOULD HAVE TO STAND TRIAL.
WHAT'S FASCINATING ABOUT THIS EXTRAORDINARY WOMAN IS THAT SHE USED EVERY SINGLE MOMENT OF THIS EVENT TO HER ADVANTAGE, TO GET PUBLICITY FOR THE CAUSE.
Narrator: ANTHONY TOURED THE COUNTY IN WHICH SHE WAS TO BE TRIED, SPEAKING IN ALL 29 VILLAGES.
Sherr: AS A RESULT OF WHICH, THEY HAD TO MOVE THE TRIAL BECAUSE THE PROSECUTOR SAID HE COULDN'T GET A FAIR TRIAL BECAUSE SHE HAD ALREADY CONVINCED EVERYBODY OTHERWISE.
AS SOON AS THEY MOVED THE TRIAL TO A DIFFERENT VENUE, SHE WENT AROUND AND SPOKE AGAIN.
Narrator: HER TRIAL BEGAN ON JUNE 17, 1873, IN THE FEDERAL COURTHOUSE AT CANANDAIGUA.
THE JUDGE, JUSTICE WARD HUNT, REFUSED TO PERMIT ANTHONY TO TESTIFY ON HER OWN BEHALF.
WOMEN, HE SAID, WERE INCOMPETENT TO DO SO.
Sherr: IT WAS A SHAM.
IT WAS A RIGGED TRIAL.
THE JUDGE HAD RATHER THOUGHTFULLY WRITTEN HIS OPINION BEFORE ANY OF THE ARGUMENTS WERE HEARD.
WHEN THE ARGUMENTS WERE HEARD, THE JUDGE TURNED TO THE JURY AND SAID, "THANK YOU, GENTLEMEN."
AND OF COURSE, IT WAS ALL GENTLEMEN.
THERE WERE NO WOMEN ON JURIES, NEVER MIND A JURY OF HER PEERS.
HE SAID, "THANK YOU VERY MUCH FOR LISTENING, BUT I NOW DIRECT YOU TO FIND HER GUILTY."
Narrator: BEFORE THE JUDGE PRONOUNCED SENTENCE, HE ASKED ANTHONY IF SHE HAD ANYTHING TO SAY.
IT WAS A TACTICAL ERROR.
"YES, I DO," SHE REPLIED.
Anthony: I HAVE MANY THINGS TO SAY, FOR IN YOUR ORDERED VERDICT OF GUILTY, YOU HAVE TRAMPLED UNDERFOOT EVERY VITAL PRINCIPLE OF OUR GOVERNMENT.
MY NATURAL RIGHTS, MY CIVIL RIGHTS, MY POLITICAL RIGHTS ARE ALL ALIKE IGNORED.
ROBBED OF THE FUNDAMENTAL PRIVILEGE OF CITIZENSHIP, I AM DEGRADED FROM THE STATUS OF A CITIZEN TO THAT OF A SUBJECT; AND NOT ONLY MYSELF INDIVIDUALLY, BUT ALL OF MY SEX ARE BY YOUR HONOR'S VERDICT DOOMED TO POLITICAL SUBJECTION UNDER THIS SO-CALLED REPUBLICAN GOVERNMENT.
Narrator: ANTHONY WAS PREPARED TO GO ON, BUT THE JUDGE BANGED HIS GAVEL AND ORDERED HER TO SIT DOWN AND BE SILENT.
SHE REFUSED.
Man: THE COURT MUST INSIST.
THE PRISONER HAS BEEN TRIED ACCORDING TO THE ESTABLISHED FORMS OF LAW.
Anthony: YES, YOUR HONOR, BUT BY FORMS OF LAW ALL MADE BY MEN, INTERPRETED BY MEN, ADMINISTERED BY MEN, IN FAVOR OF MEN AND AGAINST WOMEN; AND HENCE, YOUR HONOR'S ORDERED VERDICT OF GUILTY AGAINST A UNITED STATES CITIZEN FOR THE EXERCISE OF "THAT CITIZEN'S RIGHT TO VOTE" SIMPLY BECAUSE THAT CITIZEN WAS A WOMAN AND NOT A MAN.
Narrator: WHEN ANTHONY FINALLY FINISHED SPEAKING, THE JUDGE IMPOSED A $100 FINE, PLUS THE COST OF PROSECUTION.
Sherr: AT THE END OF IT, SHE STOOD UP AND SAID, "I SHALL NEVER PAY A PENNY OF YOUR UNJUST FINE," AND SHE NEVER DID.
Narrator: THE TRIAL HAD BEEN A CIRCUS, AND ANTHONY HAD SKILLFULLY EXPLOITED ITS COVERAGE IN THE PRESS, EXPOSING THE GOVERNMENT'S CASE FOR WHAT IT WAS AND GAINING SYMPATHY FOR WOMEN'S SUFFRAGE EVERYWHERE.
Man: IF IT IS A MERE QUESTION OF WHO HAS GOT THE BEST OF IT, MISS ANTHONY IS STILL AHEAD.
SHE HAS VOTED, AND THE AMERICAN CONSTITUTION HAS SURVIVED THE SHOCK.
FINING HER $100 DOES NOT RULE OUT THE FACT THAT WOMEN VOTED AND WENT HOME, AND THE WORLD JOGGED ON AS BEFORE.
Narrator: SUSAN B. ANTHONY'S CASE WAS THE MOST CELEBRATED, BUT IT WAS NOT THE MOST IMPORTANT.
IN ST. LOUIS, ANOTHER SUFFRAGIST NAMED VIRGINIA MINOR HAD ALSO TRIED TO REGISTER TO VOTE FOLLOWING THE AGREED-UPON STRATEGY.
BUT UNLIKE SUSAN B. ANTHONY, SHE WAS TURNED AWAY AND THEREFORE COULD SUE THE REGISTRAR, A MAN NAMED REESE HAPPERSETT.
IN 1874, THE CASE OF MINOR VS. HAPPERSETT REACHED THE UNITED STATES SUPREME COURT.
THE JUSTICES UNANIMOUSLY DECIDED AGAINST MINOR.
VOTING WAS NOT AMONG THE PRIVILEGES GUARANTEED TO CITIZENS, THEY SAID.
EACH STATE HAD THE RIGHT UNDER THE CONSTITUTION TO DECIDE WHO COULD AND WHO COULD NOT VOTE WITHIN ITS BORDERS.
SOUTHERN STATES NOW EAGERLY PASSED LAWS DESIGNED TO DISENFRANCHISE AFRICAN-AMERICANS-- LITERACY TESTS AND PROPERTY-OWNING REQUIREMENTS-- TO KEEP FORMER SLAVES FROM VOTING.
SUSAN B. ANTHONY SAW IT ALL COMING.
Anthony: IF WE ONCE ESTABLISH THE FALSE PRINCIPLE THAT UNITED STATES CITIZENSHIP DOES NOT CARRY WITH IT THE RIGHT TO VOTE IN EVERY STATE IN THIS UNION, THERE IS NO END TO THE PETTY FREAKS AND CUNNING DEVICES THAT WILL BE RESORTED TO TO EXCLUDE ONE AND ANOTHER CLASS OF CITIZENS FROM THE RIGHT OF SUFFRAGE.
Griffith: ALTHOUGH MUCH LESS WELL-KNOWN, MINOR V. HAPPERSETT IS AS SIGNIFICANT AS THE DRED SCOTT DECISION.
BUT IT WOULD REINVIGORATE THE WOMEN'S RIGHTS MOVEMENT, AND IT WOULD GIVE THEM A GOAL.
IT WOULD MOVE THEM TOWARD A SINGLE-MINDED CAMPAIGN TO GET A CONSTITUTIONAL AMENDMENT.
Narrator: STANTON AND ANTHONY NOW GAVE UP ON WINNING THE VOTE THROUGH THE COURTS.
THEY WOULD HAVE TO PERSUADE THE CONGRESS AND THE AMERICAN PEOPLE OF THE RIGHTNESS OF THEIR CAUSE.
THEY WOULD NEED TO AMEND THE CONSTITUTION.
Woman: CROSSING THE MISSISSIPPI AT McGREGOR, IOWA, WE WERE ICEBOUND IN THE MIDDLE OF THE RIVER.
THE BOAT WAS CROWDED WITH PEOPLE-- HUNGRY, TIRED, AND CROSS WITH THE DELAY.
SOME GENTLEMEN WITH WHOM WE HAD BEEN TALKING ON THE CARS STARTED THE CRY, "SPEECH ON WOMAN'S SUFFRAGE!"
ACCORDINGLY, IN THE MIDDLE OF THE MISSISSIPPI RIVER, WE PRESENTED OUR CLAIMS TO POLITICAL REPRESENTATION AND DEBATED THE QUESTION OF UNIVERSAL SUFFRAGE TILL WE LANDED.
OUR VOYAGERS WERE QUITE THANKFUL THAT WE HAD SHORTENED THE MANY HOURS, AND WE EQUALLY SO AT HAVING MADE MANY CONVERTS AND HELD A CONVENTION ON THE VERY BOSOM OF THE GREAT "MOTHER OF WATERS".
ELIZABETH CADY STANTON.
Narrator: STANTON WAS AS DEVOTED TO WOMEN'S SUFFRAGE AS SHE HAD EVER BEEN.
SHE HELD THE PRESIDENCY OF THE NATIONAL ASSOCIATION FOR NEARLY 20 YEARS, BUT SHE ONLY SPORADICALLY BOTHERED TO ATTEND ITS ANNUAL CONVENTIONS.
SHE WAS WEARY OF THE INFIGHTING AND INTRIGUE OF SUFFRAGE POLITICS.
"DON'T SPEAK TO ME OF CONVENTIONS," SHE ONCE TOLD ANTHONY.
"I CAN'T BEAR HAVING TO HOLD MY TONGUE FOR FEAR OF OFFENDING SOMEONE."
INSTEAD, SHE BECAME A PAID LECTURER, DRAWING BIG CROWDS AND GETTING TO KNOW WOMEN ALL ACROSS THE COUNTRY.
Griffith: I THINK SHE'S MOVED BEYOND THE LIMITS OF ORGANIZED POLITICS.
THE LYCEUM CIRCUIT WAS A PAID LECTURE CIRCUIT.
THERE WEREN'T THAT MANY WOMEN ON IT.
SHE WAS BRILLIANT ON THE STAGE.
SHE WAS WITTY AND FUNNY AND GRACIOUS.
AND SHE STARTED BY TALKING ABOUT WOMEN AND THEIR LIVES AS YOUNG BRIDES OR AS MOTHERS.
SHE FOUND A COMMON GROUND, AND THEN BEFORE THE EVENING WAS OUT, SHE HAD SLIPPED IN ALL OF HER RADICAL POINTS OF VIEW ABOUT DIVORCE AND PROPERTY RIGHTS AND SUFFRAGE.
SO SHE'S CONVERTING AND CREATING MEMBERS FOR THE NATIONAL SUFFRAGE ASSOCIATION.
SHE'S SPREADING THE WORD, AND SHE'S MAKING THE LEADERSHIP LOOK SO ATTRACTIVE AND ACCEPTABLE AND GRANDMOTHERLY.
Narrator: STANTON WAS NOW EARNING HER OWN LIVING FOR THE FIRST TIME, AND SHE DELIGHTED IN HER FAME.
"YOU WOULD LAUGH," SHE WROTE HER DAUGHTER HARRIOT, "TO SEE HOW EVERYWHERE THE GIRLS FLOCK AROUND ME FOR A KISS, A CURL, AN AUTOGRAPH."
Wagner: ONE OF MY FAVORITE STORIES?
A MAN LEAPS TO HIS FEET AFTER ONE OF HER LECTURES.
HE LOOKS AT HER, AND HE IS SCOWLING NOW.
HE IS NOT HAPPY.
"MRS. STANTON," HE SAYS, "I'VE HEARD YOU SPEAK ALL MANNER OF ILL AGAINST WOMAN'S SPHERE.
"WELL, MY WIFE HAS STAYED AT HOME AND RAISED 8 STRAPPING SONS.
DON'T YOU THINK THAT'S THE BEST WORK SHE COULD HAVE DONE?"
WELL, STANTON EYES HIM FROM HEAD TO TOE.
HE'S A TINY LITTLE PINHEAD OF A MAN, AND SHE SAYS, "FRANKLY, SIR, I KNOW OF FEW MEN WORTH REPEATING 8 TIMES."
Stanton: DEAR MARGARET, IMAGINE ME TODAY SITTING IN A SMALL ROOM IN THE RAILROAD HOTEL ABOUT A HALF-MILE FROM THIS LITTLE TOWN WHERE I DO NOT KNOW A SOUL.
ABOVE ALL CONSIDERATIONS OF LONELINESS AND FATIGUE, I FEEL THAT I AM DOING AN IMMENSE AMOUNT OF GOOD IN ROUSING WOMEN TO THOUGHT AND INSPIRING THEM WITH NEW HOPE AND SELF-RESPECT, THAT I AM MAKING THE PATH SMOOTHER FOR YOU AND HATTIE AND ALL THE OTHER DEAR GIRLS.
Narrator: ELIZABETH CADY STANTON WOULD STAY ON THE ROAD OFF AND ON, ORATING, ARGUING, AND CONVERTING, FOR MORE THAN 11 YEARS.
Anthony: THE RIGHTS OF CITIZENS OF THE UNITED STATES TO VOTE SHALL NOT BE DENIED BY OR ABRIDGED BY THE UNITED STATES OR ANY STATE ON ACCOUNT OF SEX.
CONGRESS SHALL HAVE THE POWER BY APPROPRIATE LEGISLATION TO ENFORCE THE PROVISIONS OF THIS ARTICLE.
Narrator: ON JANUARY 10, 1878, REPUBLICAN SENATOR AARON A. SARGENT OF CALIFORNIA ROSE TO PROPOSE A NEW AMENDMENT TO THE CONSTITUTION, GUARANTEEING THE VOTE TO WOMEN.
IT HAD TAKEN SUSAN B. ANTHONY AND ELIZABETH CADY STANTON ALMOST 3 YEARS TO FIND A SENATOR WILLING TO INTRODUCE IT.
THE NEXT DAY, STANTON SPOKE IN SUPPORT OF THE AMENDMENT BEFORE A SENATE COMMITTEE.
HER TESTIMONY WAS AN ELOQUENT CALL FOR FEDERAL PROTECTION FOR ALL CITIZENS AND AN INDICTMENT OF THE VIOLATIONS OF CIVIL RIGHTS AND CIVIL LIBERTIES THAT HAD COME IN THE WAKE OF MINOR VS. HAPPERSETT.
BUT HER REMARKS WERE MET WITH DERISION.
ONE SENATOR YAWNED, STRETCHED, CUT HIS NAILS, AND READ A NEWSPAPER AS SHE TALKED.
Stanton: YOU MAY LISTEN TO OUR DEMANDS, GENTLEMEN, WITH DULL EARS, AND SMILE INCREDULOUSLY AT THE IDEA OF DANGER TO OUR INSTITUTIONS FROM CONTINUED VIOLATIONS OF THE CIVIL AND POLITICAL RIGHTS OF WOMEN, BUT THE QUESTION OF WHAT CITIZENS SHALL ENJOY THE RIGHTS OF SUFFRAGE INVOLVES OUR NATIONAL EXISTENCE.
Narrator: THE AMENDMENT DID NOT EVEN MAKE IT OUT OF COMMITTEE.
IT WOULD HAVE TO BE REINTRODUCED IN EVERY SESSION OF CONGRESS FOR THE NEXT 45 YEARS.
Stanton: MISSOURI, MARCH, 1879.
I HAVE BEEN WANDERING, WANDERING... UP EARLY AND LATE, SLEEPY AND DISGUSTED.
TWO MONTHS MORE, CONTAINING 61 DAYS, STILL STRETCH THEIR LONG LENGTH BEFORE ME.
I MUST PACK AND UNPACK MY TRUNK 61 TIMES, PULL OUT THE BLACK SILK TRAIN AND PUT IT ON, CURL MY HAIR, AND PIN ON THE ILLUSION PUFFING AROUND MY SPACIOUS THROAT 61 MORE TIMES, EAT 183 MORE MISERABLE MEALS, SHAKE HANDS WITH 61 MORE COMMITTEES, SMILE, LOOK INTELLIGENT AND INTERESTED IN EVERYONE WHO APPROACHES ME...
WHILE I FEEL LIKE A SQUEEZED SPONGE.
Narrator: IN 1881, STANTON WAS 65 AND WEARY OF LECTURING.
SHE RETURNED TO HER NEW HOME IN TENAFLY, NEW JERSEY.
THERE, WITH ANTHONY AND AN OLD ALLY, MATILDA JOSYLN GAGE, THE 3 WENT TO WORK WRITING A HISTORY OF THE MOVEMENT.
Gordon: THE IDEA OF WRITING A HISTORY OF WOMEN'S SUFFRAGE SEEMS TO HAVE BEEN BORN OF THE CENTENNIAL IN 1876 AND THE NOTION NOT ONLY THAT YOU'RE LOOKING BACK, BUT LOOKING FORWARD.
WE'VE GOTTEN A CENTURY OF THIS GOVERNMENT UNDER OUR BELTS.
NOW IT'S TIME FOR YOU TO ADDRESS THE QUESTION OF WOMEN.
Woman: THEY START OFF PRETTY WELL IN THE MORNING, FRESH AND AMIABLE.
THEY WRITE PAGE AFTER PAGE WITH ALACRITY, THEY LAUGH AND TALK, POKE THE FIRE BY TURN, AND ADMIRE THE FLOWERS ON THEIR DESK.
EVERYTHING IS HARMONIOUS FOR A SEASON, BUT AFTER STRAINING THEIR EYES OVER THE MOST ILLEGIBLE, DISORDERLY MANUSCRIPTS, SUDDENLY THE WHOLE SKY IS OVERSPREAD WITH DARK AND THREATENING CLOUDS.
SUSAN IS PUNCTILIOUS ON DATES, MOTHER ON PHILOSOPHY, BUT EACH CONTENDS AS STOUTLY IN THE OTHER'S DOMAIN AS IF EQUALLY STRONG ON BOTH POINTS.
SOMETIMES THESE DISPUTES RUN SO HIGH THAT DOWN GO THE PENS, ONE SAILS OUT ONE DOOR AND ONE OUT THE OTHER, WALKING IN OPPOSITE DIRECTIONS AROUND THE ESTATE.
AND JUST AS I HAVE MADE UP MY MIND THAT THIS BEAUTIFUL FRIENDSHIP OF 40 YEARS HAS AT LAST TERMINATED, I SEE THEM WALKING DOWN THE HILL, ARM IN ARM.
THEY NEVER EXPLAIN, NOR APOLOGIZE, NOR SHED TEARS, NOR MAKE UP, AS OTHER PEOPLE DO.
MARGARET STANTON LIVINGSTON.
Sherr: SUSAN B. ANTHONY DIDN'T WANT WOMEN TO FORGET THEIR PAST.
SHE WANTED TO GIVE THEM A PAST AND WRITE IT DOWN FOR THEM AND SAY, "HERE IT IS."
AND IT WAS CRITICAL TO HER TO GET IT ALL WRITTEN DOWN SO THAT FUTURE GENERATIONS WOULD UNDERSTAND THE SACRIFICES, WOULD UNDERSTAND THE TRAVELING, WOULD UNDERSTAND THE HOSTILITY, WOULD UNDERSTAND HOW TERRIBLY DIFFICULT IT HAD BEEN, AND WOULD UNDERSTAND THE PRICE OF WHAT SHE KNEW WOULD FINALLY COME, WHICH WAS THE RIGHT TO VOTE.
Narrator: IT WOULD TAKE THEM THE BETTER PART OF 6 YEARS.
WHEN COMPLETED, THEIR HISTORY OF WOMAN SUFFRAGE COMPRISED 3 LARGE VOLUMES TOTALING NEARLY 3,000 PAGES.
ANTHONY KNEW THE HISTORY WAS IMPORTANT-- SHE MADE SURE THAT LIBRARIES ALL OVER THE COUNTRY HAD COPIES THE MINUTE THEY WERE PUBLISHED-- BUT SHE HAD HATED WORKING ON IT.
"I HAD RATHER WASH OR WHITEWASH OR DO ANY POSSIBLE HARD WORK," SHE SAID, "THAN SIT HERE AND GO DIGGING INTO DUSTY RECORDS OF THE PAST-- THAT IS, RATHER MAKE HISTORY THAN WRITE IT."
Woman: DEAR SUSAN, YOU OFTEN SEEM TO ME LIKE A SUPERB WAR-HORSE.
YOU ARE COMPLETELY SWALLOWED UP IN AN IDEA, AND IT'S A GLORIOUS THING TO BE.
CARLYLE SAYS, "THE END OF MAN IS AN ACTION, NOT A THOUGHT," AND WHAT A REALIZATION OF THAT TRUTH HAS YOUR LIFE BEEN.
YOU HAVE NEVER STOPPED FOR IDLE CULTURE OR HAPPY RECREATIONS.
YOU ARE POSSESSED BY A MORAL FORCE, AND YOU ACT.
YOU ARE A DEED, NOT A THINKING.
HARRIOT STANTON.
Narrator: SUSAN B. ANTHONY CONTINUED TO MAKE HISTORY, RETURNING AGAIN AND AGAIN AND AGAIN TO THE ROAD.
SHE MOVED FROM STATE TO STATE, ORGANIZING, LECTURING, LOBBYING, COLLECTING SIGNATURES, DOING ANYTHING THAT WOULD ADVANCE HER CAUSE.
"THERE IS SCARCE A TOWN FROM NEW YORK TO SAN FRANCISCO," STANTON SAID, "THAT HAS NOT HEARD HER RINGING VOICE."
Sherr: SHE COVERED MORE MILES IN HER LIFETIME THAN ANY SANE HUMAN BEING OUGHT TO.
Gordon: ANTHONY HAS THE UNITED STATES TRAIN SCHEDULES MEMORIZED.
YOU CAN TELL IT IN HER LETTERS.
SHE'LL SAY, "I DON'T HAVE THE TRAIN SCHEDULE NEAR ME, BUT I BELIEVE I CAN CHANGE AT SALEM, OHIO, AT 2:20 AND GET ON THE TRAIN INTO BLOOMINGTON."
Narrator: SHE SPOKE IN SALOONS AND BARNS AND SCHOOLS, FROM THE STAGES OF OPERA HOUSES AND THE BACKS OF LUMBER WAGONS.
SHE SPOKE TO INMATES AT AN INSANE ASYLUM, ADDRESSED THE WIVES OF MORMON ELDERS IN THE DESERTS OF UTAH, AND ONCE TRAVELED BY MULE TO BRING HER MESSAGE TO MINERS HIGH IN THE MOUNTAINS OF COLORADO.
AND EVERYWHERE SUSAN B. ANTHONY WENT, SHE FORGED NEW ALLIANCES.
THE WOMEN'S DIVISION OF THE KNIGHTS OF LABOR, THE LADIES OF THE GRAND ARMY OF THE REPUBLIC, THE WOMEN'S CONFERENCE OF THE UNITARIAN ASSOCIATION, THE UNIVERSAL PEACE UNION, THE DAUGHTERS OF THE AMERICAN REVOLUTION, THE NATIONAL ASSOCIATION OF COLORED WOMEN... ANTHONY REACHED OUT TO THEM ALL.
Dubois: AND THE MOST IMPORTANT DEVELOPMENT IN THE LAST QUARTER OF THE 19th CENTURY IS THE PROLIFERATION OF WOMEN'S ORGANIZATIONS WHICH BRING WOMEN INTO PUBLIC ACTIVISM AND AT TIMES INTO POLITICAL ENGAGEMENT.
ANTHONY SAW IN IT THE POSSIBILITY OF BUILDING A MASS WOMEN'S SUFFRAGE MOVEMENT.
AND FROM THE LATE 1870s ON, HER NOTION WAS TO TRY AND BUILD A SUFFRAGE MOVEMENT AROUND THE SINGLE ISSUE OF VOTES FOR WOMEN.
THUS SHE WAS WILLING TO PUT ASIDE MANY OF HER OTHER PERSONAL BELIEFS AND TRY AND BASICALLY UNITE ALL OF AMERICAN WOMANHOOD AROUND THE DEMAND OF VOTES FOR WOMEN.
I THINK ANTHONY ABSOLUTELY BELIEVED THIS IS THE PATH.
WE MUST GET THE VOTE, AND EVERYTHING ELSE IS A SIDE ISSUE.
IT'S PERIPHERAL.
IT'S UNIMPORTANT.
IF IT DIVIDES WOMEN, IT JUST NEEDS TO BE LET GO OF.
AND IF YOU'RE ALL TOTAL PURPOSE, IF YOUR SOLE PURPOSE IS THE VOTE, THEN ANTHONY DID EXACTLY WHAT SHOULD BE DONE.
SHE WOULD MAKE COALITIONS AND CONNECTIONS WITH ANYONE, EVEN THE ENEMIES OF FREEDOM IN EVERY OTHER WAY, WHO WERE WILLING TO WORK FOR THE VOTE.
FRANCES WILLARD IS A CASE IN POINT.
Narrator: FRANCES WILLARD WAS THE POWERFUL PRESIDENT OF THE WOMAN'S CHRISTIAN TEMPERANCE UNION, 200,000 MEMBERS STRONG.
SHE, TOO, WANTED THE VOTE FOR WOMEN-- SO SHE COULD OUTLAW ALCOHOL AND EXTEND CHRISTIAN MORALITY INTO EVERY ASPECT OF CIVIC LIFE.
BUT BY ASSOCIATING WITH WILLARD, ANTHONY EARNED HER MOVEMENT POWERFUL NEW ENEMIES, INCLUDING THE LIQUOR INTERESTS WHO FEARED THAT IF WOMEN EVER GOT THE VOTE, THEY WOULD USE IT TO PUT THEM OUT OF BUSINESS.
ELIZABETH CADY STANTON HAD GRAVE CONCERNS ABOUT THE ALLIANCE WITH WILLARD, BUT FOR SUSAN B. ANTHONY, IT WAS A RISK SHE WAS WILLING TO TAKE.
DURING THE 1880s, ANTHONY ALSO BEGAN TO TRAIN A NEW GENERATION OF SUFFRAGISTS TO CARRY ON AFTER SHE AND STANTON PASSED FROM THE SCENE.
Sherr: THE YOUNG WOMEN WHO CAME TO WORK FOR THE CAUSE ULTIMATELY BECAME KNOWN AS HER NIECES.
AND SHE FULLY UNDERSTOOD THAT SHE WAS NOT GOING TO LIVE FOREVER AND THAT WE MIGHT NOT GET THE RIGHT TO VOTE WHILE SHE WAS STILL ALIVE AND THAT THEREFORE, SHE NEEDED TO TRAIN PEOPLE TO CARRY ON AFTER HER.
Narrator: IN OCTOBER OF 1886, ELIZABETH CADY STANTON SAILED FOR ENGLAND WITH HER DAUGHTER HARRIOT AND GRANDDAUGHTER NORA, INTENDING TO SPEND THE WINTER.
THERE, ON JANUARY 14, 1887, SHE RECEIVED A CABLEGRAM FROM TENAFLY: HER HUSBAND HENRY HAD DIED OF PNEUMONIA.
THE TWO HAD LIVED TOGETHER-- AND APART--FOR 46 YEARS.
"THE STARTLING NEWS COMES UPON YOU WITHOUT PREPARATION," SHE CONFIDED TO HER DIARY.
Stanton: THEN WELL UP REGRETS FOR EVERY UNKIND, UNGRACIOUS WORD SPOKEN, FOR EVERY ACT OF COLDNESS AND NEGLECT.
IF WE COULD ONLY REMEMBER IN LIFE TO BE GENTLE AND FORBEARING WITH EACH OTHER, AND TO STRIVE TO SERVE NOBLY INSTEAD OF EXACTING SERVICE, OUR MEMORIES OF THE PAST WOULD BE MORE PLEASANT.
Narrator: THE NEXT YEAR, 1888, WAS THE 40th ANNIVERSARY OF THE SENECA FALLS CONVENTION, AND TO COMMEMORATE IT, SUSAN B. ANTHONY ORGANIZED AN INTERNATIONAL COUNCIL OF WOMEN IN WASHINGTON, D.C. STANTON, COMFORTABLE IN ENGLAND AND FRUSTRATED WITH THE COMPROMISES HER YOUNGER COLLEAGUES SEEMED TOO WILLING TO MAKE, DECIDED NOT TO COME.
ANTHONY WAS FURIOUS.
"I WROTE THE MOST TERRIFIC LETTER TO MRS. STANTON," SHE TOLD A FRIEND.
"IT WILL START EVERY WHITE HAIR ON HER HEAD."
FINALLY, STANTON RELENTED.
SHE ARRIVED IN WASHINGTON IN THE MIDST OF THE GREAT BLIZZARD OF 1888.
Barry: SHE ARRIVES AND DOESN'T HAVE A SPEECH READY.
AND ANTHONY IS SAYING TO HER, "HOW CAN THE WOMAN "WHO CALLED THE 1848 SENECA FALLS CONVENTION, "THAT IS BEING HONORED IN OUR FIRST INTERNATIONAL CONVENTION, COME TO US WITHOUT A SPEECH?"
KNOWING THAT SHE HAD TO PUT A LITTLE DISCIPLINE ON THE SITUATION, SHE SIMPLY POSTED ONE OF THE YOUNGER WOMEN OUTSIDE OF STANTON'S DOOR, SAW THAT SHE WAS WELL-FED AND WELL TAKEN CARE OF, BUT DIDN'T LET HER LEAVE THE ROOM UNTIL THAT SPEECH WAS READY.
Stanton: WELL, AS ALL WOMEN ARE SUPPOSED TO BE UNDER THE THUMB OF SOME MAN, I PREFER A TYRANT OF MY OWN SEX, SO I SHALL NOT DENY THE PATENT FACT OF MY SUBJECTION; FOR I DO BELIEVE THAT I HAVE DEVELOPED INTO MUCH MORE OF A WOMAN UNDER SUSAN'S JURISDICTION.
Narrator: THE INTERNATIONAL COUNCIL WAS A SUCCESS.
IT PERMITTED SUSAN B. ANTHONY AND HER PROTÉÉGÉÉS TO BEGIN TO NEGOTIATE A MERGER BETWEEN THE TWO RIVAL AMERICAN SUFFRAGE ORGANIZATIONS.
ALTHOUGH STANTON WAS NOT PLEASED AT THE PROSPECT OF WORKING WITH HER OLD ENEMY LUCY STONE AGAIN, ANTHONY WAS CONVINCED THAT A UNITED MOVEMENT WAS THE ONLY WAY FOR WOMEN TO GET THE VOTE.
AFTER ALMOST TWO YEARS OF HARD BARGAINING BEHIND THE SCENES, THE WARRING FACTIONS AGREED TO MERGE.
THE NEW NATIONAL AMERICAN WOMAN SUFFRAGE ASSOCIATION ELECTED ELIZABETH CADY STANTON ITS FIRST PRESIDENT.
STANTON WAS HONORED TO HOLD THE POST, SHE SAID, BUT SHE WAS CONCERNED THAT THE FOCUS OF THE MOVEMENT WAS GROWING TOO NARROW, TOO CAUTIOUS, TOO MIDDLE-CLASS.
SHE WANTED TO RAISE NEW ISSUES AND HOPED THE MEMBERSHIP WOULD INCLUDE, SHE SAID, "ALL TYPES AND CLASSES, RACES AND CREEDS."
HER SUGGESTIONS WERE POLITELY IGNORED.
THOUGH ANTHONY PRIVATELY AGREED WITH MOST OF HER OLD FRIEND'S IDEAS, SHE WAS BOUND BY HER COMMITMENT TO THE GOAL OF VOTES FOR WOMEN.
"I GET MORE RADICAL AS I GET OLDER," STANTON WROTE IN HER DIARY, "WHILE SUSAN SEEMS TO GROW MORE CONSERVATIVE."
STANTON RETURNED TO ENGLAND.
Man: NO LONGER IN THE BLOOM OF YOUTH, IF SHE EVER HAD ANY BLOOM, HARD-FEATURED, GUILELESS, COLD AS AN ICICLE, FLUENT AND PHILOSOPHICAL, SHE WIELDS TODAY TENFOLD MORE INFLUENCE THAN ALL THE BEAUTIFUL FEMALE LECTURERS THAT EVER FLAUNTED UPON THE PLATFORM AS PREACHERS OF SOCIAL IMPOSSIBILITIES.
Narrator: SUSAN B. ANTHONY WAS NOW THE LIVING SYMBOL OF WOMAN SUFFRAGE, CEASELESSLY CAMPAIGNING ALL OVER THE COUNTRY, A SOURCE OF COLORFUL COPY WHEREVER SHE WENT.
EVEN THE RED SHAWL SHE HAD WORN ON THE ROAD FOR YEARS WAS CELEBRATED.
ONCE WHEN SHE APPEARED ON STAGE IN WASHINGTON WEARING A NEW WHITE ONE, VETERAN REPORTERS SENT HER A NOTE: "NO RED SHAWL," IT SAID, "NO REPORT."
SHE LAUGHED.
"ALL RIGHT, BOYS," SHE SAID.
"I'LL SEND TO THE HOTEL FOR IT."
AS SHE WRAPPED THE RED SHAWL AROUND HER SHOULDERS, THE AUDIENCE BURST INTO APPLAUSE AND REPORTERS PICKED UP THEIR PENCILS.
SHE NOW TOOK JUSTIFIABLE PRIDE IN THE FACT THAT, UNDER PRESSURE FROM THE MOVEMENT THAT SHE AND ELIZABETH CADY STANTON HAD LED FOR SO MANY YEARS, LIFE FOR AMERICAN WOMEN HAD UNDERGONE STEADY AND DRAMATIC CHANGE.
AT THE TIME OF ANTHONY'S BIRTH, NO WOMAN HAD BEEN WELCOME AT ANY AMERICAN COLLEGE.
NOW, WOMEN FREELY ATTENDED 8 OUT OF 10 COLLEGES, UNIVERSITIES, AND PROFESSIONAL SCHOOLS.
THERE WERE NOW A HANDFUL OF WOMEN DOCTORS AND WOMEN CLERGY, TOO.
WOMEN COULD NOW OWN PROPERTY AND KEEP THEIR EARNINGS, COULD SUE AND TESTIFY, AND IN A FEW STATES SERVE AS JURORS AND PRACTICE LAW.
WOMEN HAD EVEN BEEN GRANTED THE RIGHT TO VOTE IN 4 WESTERN STATES AND TERRITORIES: WYOMING, UTAH, COLORADO, AND IDAHO.
AND ANTHONY HERSELF HAD CONVERTED HUNDREDS OF THOUSANDS OF WOMEN TO THE CAUSE.
BUT SHE COULD NOT REST, WOULD NOT LEAVE THE BATTLEFIELD, SHE SAID, UNTIL THE DAY "WHEN MAN WILL RECOGNIZE WOMAN HIS PEER, NOT ONLY AT THE FIRESIDE, BUT IN THE COUNCILS OF THE NATION."
Stanton: MISS ANTHONY'S LIFE IS A LESSON TO ALL UNMARRIED WOMEN, SHOWING THAT THE LOVE-ELEMENT NEED NOT BE WHOLLY LOST IF IT IS NOT CENTERED ON HUSBAND AND CHILDREN.
TO LIVE FOR A PRINCIPLE, FOR THE TRIUMPH OF SOME REFORM BY WHICH ALL MANKIND ARE TO BE LIFTED UP-- TO BE WEDDED TO AN IDEA-- MAY BE, AFTER ALL, THE HOLIEST AND HAPPIEST OF MARRIAGES.
Narrator: IN 1892, ELIZABETH CADY STANTON SAILED HOME AGAIN FOR AMERICA.
HER MIND WAS STILL KEEN, BUT AGE AND APPETITE HAD SLOWED HER DOWN.
SHE NOW WEIGHED MORE THAN 240 POUNDS, HAD DIFFICULTY SIMPLY CROSSING HER STATEROOM, HAD TO BE HELPED AROUND THE DECK BY A PAID COMPANION.
"THAT SUCH MENTAL POWERS MUST BE HAMPERED WITH SUCH A CLUMSY BODY," SUSAN B. ANTHONY WROTE TO A FRIEND.
"IF WE COULD ONLY GIVE HER ELASTICITY OF LIMBS AND LOCOMOTIVE POWERS."
BUT THE WORST TRAGEDY, I THINK FOR STANTON NEAR THE END OF HER LIFE WAS THAT SHE STARTED LOSING HER SIGHT, AND FOR A WOMAN FOR WHOM WRITING AND READING WAS THE CHIEF PLEASURE OF LIFE, THIS WAS A TERRIBLE BLOW.
Narrator: SINCE HER HUSBAND'S DEATH, SHE HAD BEEN MOVING AMONG HER CHILDREN AND HER MANY FRIENDS AND ADMIRERS.
ANTHONY, WHO HAD HERSELF BEEN TRAVELING ALMOST CEASELESSLY FOR HALF A CENTURY, SLOWED DOWN A LITTLE, TOO, AND SETTLED WITH HER BELOVED SISTER MARY INTO HER OLD FAMILY HOME IN ROCHESTER.
Stanton: I REJOICE THAT YOU ARE GOING TO HOUSEKEEPING.
MY ADVICE TO YOU, SUSAN, IS TO KEEP SOME SPOT YOU CAN CALL YOUR OWN, WHERE YOU CAN LIVE AND DIE IN PEACE AND BE CREMATED IN YOUR OWN OVEN IF YOU DESIRE.
Anthony: DEAR MRS.STANTON-- THIS IS THE FIRST TIME SINCE 1850 THAT I HAVE ANCHORED MYSELF TO ANY PARTICULAR SPOT, AND IN DOING IT, MY CONSTANT THOUGHT WAS THAT YOU WOULD COME HERE AND STAY FOR AS LONG, AT LEAST, AS WE MUST BE TOGETHER TO PUT YOUR WRITINGS INTO SYSTEMATIC SHAPE TO GO DOWN TO POSTERITY.
Narrator: STANTON GENTLY TURNED HER DOWN AND MOVED INSTEAD INTO A MANHATTAN APARTMENT WITH HER DAUGHTER MARGARET AND SON ROBERT.
ANTHONY DID HER BEST TO HIDE HER DISAPPOINTMENT.
Anthony: WELL, I HOPE YOU WILL DO AND BE AS SEEMETH BEST UNTO YOURSELF.
STILL I CANNOT HELP SENDING YOU THIS INNER GROAN OF MY SOUL.
Barry: ANTHONY WAS VERY DISAPPOINTED, AND I THINK THAT AT THAT POINT, SOMETHING HAPPENED IN THEIR RELATIONSHIP.
IT WASN'T A BREAKING, IT WASN'T A SEVERING, BUT IT WASN'T THAT IT WAS ANY LONGER GOING TO BE KIND OF SETTLING IN.
THEY WERE SETTLING IN IN DIFFERENT PLACES.
THEY WEREN'T SETTLING IN TOGETHER.
Narrator: ON JANUARY 18, 1892, THE NATIONAL AMERICAN ASSOCIATION HELD ITS ANNUAL CONVENTION IN WASHINGTON.
ELIZABETH CADY STANTON WAS 76 NOW AND FELT THE TIME HAD FINALLY COME TO RESIGN THE PRESIDENCY.
SHE CONSIDERED THE FAREWELL ADDRESS SHE GAVE THAT DAY THE BEST OF HER CAREER.
IT WAS CALLED "THE SOLITUDE OF SELF."
Stanton: NO MATTER HOW MUCH WOMEN PREFER TO LEAN, TO BE PROTECTED AND SUPPORTED, NOR HOW MUCH MEN PREFER TO HAVE THEM DO SO, THEY MUST MAKE THE VOYAGE OF LIFE ALONE, AND FOR SAFETY IN AN EMERGENCY THEY MUST KNOW SOMETHING OF THE LAWS OF NAVIGATION.
THE TALK OF SHELTERING WOMEN FROM THE FIERCE STORMS OF LIFE IS SHEEREST MOCKERY, FOR THEY BEAT ON HER FROM EVERY POINT OF THE COMPASS, JUST AS THEY DO ON MAN, AND WITH MORE FATAL RESULTS, FOR HE HAS BEEN TRAINED TO PROTECT HIMSELF, TO RESIST, TO CONQUER.
WHATEVER THE THEORIES MAY BE OF WOMAN'S DEPENDENCE ON MAN, IN THE SUPREME MOMENTS OF HER LIFE HE CANNOT BEAR HER BURDENS.
IN THE TRAGEDIES AND TRIUMPHS OF HUMAN EXPERIENCE, EACH MORTAL STANDS ALONE.
STANTON'S "SOLITUDE OF SELF" IS HER MOST SIGNIFICANT STATEMENT OF WOMEN'S RIGHTS AND OF PERSONAL AFFIRMATION.
THE METAPHOR SHE USES IS THE WOMAN IN THE LIFEBOAT.
NO MATTER WHAT WOMAN YOU ARE ON THE SINKING SHIP, WHETHER YOU ARE THE WEALTHY WOMAN OR THE SERVANT GIRL OR THE POOREST PERSON IN STEERAGE, IF YOU'RE STUCK IN THE LIFEBOAT AND THERE IS NO MALE TO ROW, SHOULD YOU NOT HAVE LEARNED TO USE THE OARS?
THAT IN WOMEN'S HARDEST TIMES IN HER LIFE, SHE'S GOING TO BE BY HERSELF.
SO WE OUGHT TO SUPPORT WOMEN SO THAT THEY CAN BE STRONG IN THOSE MOMENTS.
Stanton: THE STRONGEST REASON WHY WE ASK FOR WOMAN A VOICE IN THE GOVERNMENT UNDER WHICH SHE LIVES; IN THE RELIGION SHE IS ASKED TO BELIEVE; EQUALITY IN SOCIAL LIFE, WHERE SHE IS THE CHIEF FACTOR; A PLACE IN THE TRADES AND PROFESSIONS, WHERE SHE MAY EARN HER BREAD, IS BECAUSE OF HER BIRTHRIGHT TO SELF-SOVEREIGNTY; BECAUSE, AS AN INDIVIDUAL, SHE MUST RELY ON HERSELF.
Dubois: I THINK THAT THIS CONVICTION IN SELF-SOVEREIGNTY IS AT THE CORE OF WHAT MAKES STANTON STILL SO COMPELLING TO US.
IN SOME WAYS, IT'S A VERY UN-19th CENTURY WAY OF UNDERSTANDING THE PLACE OF A PERSON IN THE WORLD.
THIS DEEPLY PSYCHOLOGICAL UNDERSTANDING OF FREEDOM.
Gornick: IT TELLS YOU IN A FEW UNFORGETTABLE SENTENCES WHY AT THE VERY LEAST, EVERY HUMAN BEING-- AND THIS WOULD GO BACK TO PLATO-- WHY EVERY HUMAN BEING REQUIRES POLITICAL LIBERTY.
SHE CAME FINALLY TO THE CONCLUSION THAT EVERY HUMAN BEING IS ALONE IN THIS LIFE, FROM BEGINNING TO END.
SHE HAD, AT THE END OF HER LIFE, EXISTENTIAL KNOWLEDGE.
SHE SAW TO THE CENTER, AND SHE SAW, AS SHE SAID, "WE ARE TOLD THAT WOMEN WILL LIVE THEIR LIVES IN THE CARE OF MEN, "AND THAT THEY WILL, IN FACT, "NOT BE RESPONSIBLE FOR THEMSELVES AT THE END OF THEIR LIVES.
BUT IT IS NOT TRUE."
LIFE LAYS THE SAME BURDEN ON WOMEN AS IT DOES ON MEN, AND WOMEN WHO DO NOT UNDERSTAND THIS WILL END IN A TERRIBLE STATE.
THEY WILL END LOST AND ABANDONED WITHOUT KNOWLEDGE OF HOW TO DEAL, WHEN YOU COME TO DIE, WITH THE SOLITUDE OF THE SELF.
WITH THE FACT THAT WE ARE ALL ALONE IN THIS.
Stanton: IN AGE, WHEN THE PLEASURES OF YOUTH ARE PASSED, CHILDREN GROWN UP, MARRIED, AND GONE, THE HURRY AND BUSTLE OF LIFE IN A MEASURE OVER, WHEN THE HANDS ARE WEARY OF ACTIVE SERVICE, WHEN THE OLD ARMCHAIR AND THE FIRESIDE ARE CHOSEN RESORTS, THEN MEN AND WOMEN ALIKE MUST FALL BACK ON THEIR OWN RESOURCES.
THERE IS A SOLITUDE WHICH EACH AND EVERY ONE OF US HAS ALWAYS CARRIED... MORE INACCESSIBLE THAN THE ICE-COLD MOUNTAINS, MORE PROFOUND THAN THE MIDNIGHT SEA; THE SOLITUDE OF SELF.
OUR INNER BEING WHICH WE CALL OURSELVES, NO EYE OR TOUCH OF MAN OR ANGEL HAS EVER PIERCED.
ELIZABETH CADY STANTON.
Narrator: IN JULY OF 1895, SUSAN B.ANTHONY WAS 75 YEARS OLD, BACK ON THE ROAD, GIVING STILL ANOTHER SPEECH, THIS TIME IN LAKESIDE, OHIO.
SHE'D ALREADY CAMPAIGNED IN 11 STATES THAT YEAR, AND AS SHE FINISHED HER REMARKS, SHE SUDDENLY COLLAPSED FROM EXHAUSTION.
IT WAS "THE WHOLE OF ME," SHE SAID, "COMING TO A STANDSTILL, LIKE A CLAP OF THUNDER UNDER A CLEAR SKY."
REPORTERS CIRCLED THE HOUSE IN WHICH SHE WAS STAYING.
THE ASSOCIATED PRESS WIRED ITS MAN IN OHIO: "SEND US 5,000 WORDS IF SHE IS ALIVE, UNLIMITED IF SHE IS DEAD."
Stanton: DEAR SUSAN...
I NEVER REALIZED HOW DESOLATE THE WORLD WOULD BE FOR ME WITHOUT YOU, UNTIL I HEARD OF YOUR SUDDEN ILLNESS.
STAY HOME, REST... SAVE YOUR PRECIOUS SELF.
Narrator: BUT SUSAN B. ANTHONY WOULD NOT REST.
NOR WOULD SHE PERMIT ANY OTHER ISSUE TO SIDETRACK HER GOAL OF VOTES FOR WOMEN, NO MATTER HOW PERSONALLY PAINFUL IT MIGHT BE.
EARLIER THAT YEAR, AT THE ANNUAL CONVENTION IN ATLANTA, ANTHONY HAD RELUCTANTLY GONE ALONG WITH THE WISHES OF HER SOUTHERN HOSTS WHO WANTED TO BAR BLACK WOMEN FROM THE PROCEEDINGS.
LATER, SHE WOULD KEEP SILENT WHEN THE NATIONAL AMERICAN OFFICIALLY DECLARED IT HAD NO OBJECTIONS TO ANY STATE PREVENTING BLACK WOMEN FROM JOINING ITS LOCAL CHAPTERS.
WHAT THIS MEANT WAS THAT THERE WAS NO ONE AT THE CENTER OF THE NATIONAL AMERICAN WOMEN'S SUFFRAGE ASSOCIATION COMMITTED TO GETTING BLACK WOMEN THE VOTE.
AND AS SOON AS YOU'VE GIVEN THAT KIND OF STATE'S RIGHTS POWER TO YOUR AFFILIATED WOMEN'S SUFFRAGE ASSOCIATIONS, THEN YOU'VE GOT NO GROUNDS ON WHICH TO BE MAKING THE PRINCIPLED STAND.
Dubois: WHEN BLACK WOMEN BECOME SUFFRAGE ACTIVISTS IN THE LATE 19th CENTURY, THEY REALLY HAVE TO INAUGURATE THEIR OWN INSTITUTIONS, THEIR OWN ACTIVISM.
SO WHEN VOTES FOR WOMEN REACHES ITS HIGH POINT, IT DOES SO IN A SEGREGATED FASHION.
Narrator: THE OLD ABOLITIONIST SUSAN B. ANTHONY KNEW THAT EXCLUSION WAS WRONG, BUT ALL OF HER POLITICAL INSTINCTS TOLD HER SHE COULD NOT AFFORD TO LOSE THE SUPPORT OF WHITE SOUTHERN WOMEN, COULD NOT AFFORD TO ALIENATE A CONGRESS NOW DOMINATED BY WHITE SOUTHERN MEN.
Sherr: SUSAN B. ANTHONY PERSONALLY WAS NOT BIASED.
SHE WAS NOT A RACIST.
SHE WANTED BLACK WOMEN TO HAVE THE VOTE.
SHE WAS, HOWEVER, SO OVERWROUGHT IN GETTING THAT RIGHT TO VOTE, THAT MAYBE SHE OVERLOOKED SOME THINGS.
IT'S THE ONLY AREA WHERE I CAN FIND THAT MAYBE SHE MADE A COMPROMISE THAT SHE DIDN'T THINK THROUGH.
Dubois: I CAN'T REALLY SAY WHAT IT MUST HAVE BEEN LIKE FOR HER, BUT AT THIS POINT SHE MUST HAVE HAD A REALLY DEEP AND I ASSUME PAINFUL DISTINCTION BETWEEN HER PUBLIC AND POLITICAL VIEWS AND HER PERSONAL CONVICTIONS.
THERE MUST HAVE BEEN A KIND OF ALIENATION FROM HER EARLIER SELF.
Wagner: I THINK THAT THE MOST INTERESTING STANTON IS THE STANTON OF THE LAST DECADE.
THIS IS THE WOMAN I LOVE THE MOST.
THIS IS THE CONTEMPLATIVE WOMAN WHO HAS A WORLD OF A LIFE OF EXPERIENCE THAT SHE BRINGS TO EACH THOUGHT, WHO HAS A PEN SO HONED THAT IT IS LASER SHARP, WHO STILL DELIGHTS IN FOOD AND FAMILY, AND IF THERE IS A HEAVEN, I WOULD LIKE TO SPEND IT WITH THE ELIZABETH CADY STANTON OF THE LAST DECADE OF HER LIFE.
Narrator: IN NOVEMBER OF 1895, ELIZABETH CADY STANTON PUT HERSELF BACK INTO THE HEADLINES AND PLUNGED HER CLOSEST FRIEND-- AND THE MOVEMENT THEY LED TOGETHER-- INTO STILL ANOTHER CONTROVERSY.
SHE PUBLISHED THE WOMAN'S BIBLE, MEANT, SHE SAID, AS A DIRECT CHALLENGE TO THE RELIGIOUS DOCTRINE THAT WOMAN WAS AN INFERIOR BEING, SUBJECT TO MAN.
Griffith: THE POINT STANTON WAS TRYING TO MAKE IN PUBLICIZING THE WOMAN'S BIBLE WAS THAT THE BIBLE HAD BEEN USED AS A PATRIARCHAL DOCUMENT BY MALE MINISTERS TO KEEP WOMEN IN A SUBORDINATE POSITION.
THE STORY MOST OF US KNOW ABOUT THE CREATION OF ADAM AND EVE FROM THE FIRST CHAPTER OF GENESIS IS THAT EVE IS ADAM'S RIB.
THERE'S ANOTHER STORY.
THE STORY STANTON POINTED HER READERS TO IS IN THE NEXT CHAPTER.
MALE AND FEMALE, CREATED IN THE SAME INSTANT, IN THE IMAGE OF GOD, IS THE LANGUAGE.
THIS CREATED NOT ONLY EQUALITY BETWEEN MEN AND WOMEN, BUT AN ANDROGYNOUS GOD.
AND STANTON WOULD SAY GRACE TO MOTHER AND FATHER GOD.
ALL OF THIS IS SHOCKING IN 1895.
IT'S HERESY, AND IT EMBARRASSES ALL OF HER ALLIES, ALL OF HER FRIENDS.
Narrator: STANTON'S BIBLE BECAME AN IMMEDIATE BESTSELLER, WITH 7 SEPARATE PRINTINGS IN 6 MONTHS.
BUT ANTHONY HAD REFUSED TO HELP WITH THE PROJECT.
SHE THOUGHT IT WOULD DIVERT ATTENTION FROM THE VOTE AND DRIVE AWAY THE HOST OF CONSERVATIVE WOMEN WHO HAD RECENTLY JOINED THE MOVEMENT.
Anthony: DEAR MRS. STANTON-- STOP HITTING POOR OLD ST. PAUL, AND GIVE YOUR HEAVIEST RAPS ON THE HEAD OF EVERY NABOB-- MAN OR WOMAN--WHO DOES INJUSTICE TO A HUMAN BEING FOR THE CRIME OF COLOR OR SEX.
I DO WISH YOU COULD CENTER YOUR BIG BRAIN ON THE CRIMES WE OURSELVES AS A PEOPLE ARE RESPONSIBLE FOR.
TO CHARGE OUR OFFENSES TO FALSE BOOKS OR FALSE INTERPRETATIONS IS BUT A WAY OF SEEKING A REFUGE OF LIES.
Narrator: AT THE NEXT MEETING OF THE WOMAN'S SUFFRAGE ASSOCIATION, ANTHONY'S WORST FEARS ABOUT HER FRIEND'S PROVOCATIVE BOOK WERE CONFIRMED.
A RESOLUTION WAS PROPOSED TO DISASSOCIATE THE GROUP ENTIRELY FROM STANTON AND HER CONTROVERSIAL IDEAS.
TO ANTHONY'S DEEP DISAPPOINTMENT, AMONG THOSE WHO FAVORED THE RESOLUTION WERE MANY OF THE YOUNGER DELEGATES WHOM SHE CALLED HER "NIECES", INCLUDING HER TWO FAVORITE PROTÉÉGÉÉS, THE REVEREND ANNA HOWARD SHAW AND CARRIE CHAPMAN CATT.
Griffith: THE SECOND GENERATION OF THE WOMEN'S MOVEMENT, EPITOMIZED BY ANNA HOWARD SHAW, CARRIE CHAPMAN CATT, ARE COMPLETELY NEGATIVE ABOUT STANTON'S CONTRIBUTIONS.
THEY DO NOT SEE HER AS THIS BROAD-MINDED THINKER.
THEY SEE HER AS A WILD WOMAN OUT OF CONTROL WHO IS CONSTANTLY BRINGING RIDICULE AND EMBARRASSMENT ON TO THEM.
SO THEY WANT TO SHUT HER UP.
Narrator: JUST BEFORE THE RESOLUTION TO CENSURE ELIZABETH CADY STANTON WAS BROUGHT TO A VOTE, SUSAN B. ANTHONY CAME-- ONCE AGAIN-- TO HER OLD FRIEND'S DEFENSE.
Anthony: THIS RESOLUTION WILL BE A VOTE OF CENSURE UPON A WOMAN WHO HAS STOOD FOR HALF A CENTURY THE ACKNOWLEDGED LEADER OF PROGRESSIVE THOUGHT IN REGARD TO ALL MATTERS PERTAINING TO THE ABSOLUTE FREEDOM OF WOMAN.
I SHALL BE PAINED BEYOND EXPRESSION IF THE DELEGATES ARE SO NARROW AND ILLIBERAL AS TO ADOPT THIS RESOLUTION.
YOU HAD BETTER NOT BEGIN RESOLVING AGAINST INDIVIDUAL ACTION, OR YOU WILL FIND NO LIMIT.
THIS YEAR IT IS MRS. STANTON.
NEXT YEAR, IT MAY BE ME OR ONE OF YOURSELVES WHO WILL BE THE VICTIM.
Narrator: IN THE END, EVEN ANTHONY COULD NOT SWAY THE DELEGATES.
THEY VOTED TO DISASSOCIATE THEMSELVES FROM THE WOMAN MOST RESPONSIBLE FOR LAUNCHING THEIR MOVEMENT.
STANTON WAS HURT AND ANGRY.
SHE DEMANDED THAT ANTHONY IMMEDIATELY RESIGN THE PRESIDENCY OF THE ORGANIZATION IN PROTEST.
ANTHONY AGONIZED FOR 3 WEEKS, TORN BETWEEN LOYALTY TO HER OLDEST FRIEND AND THE ORGANIZATION TO WHICH THEY'D BOTH DEVOTED THEIR LIVES.
FINALLY, RELUCTANTLY, SHE DECIDED TO REMAIN IN OFFICE.
Sherr: SUSAN B. ANTHONY DIDN'T RESIGN BECAUSE SHE HAD WORK TO DO.
SHE WASN'T WALKING AWAY FROM SOMETHING SHE HAD BUILT UP AND STARTED AND DEEPLY BELIEVED IN.
Wagner: THEY ARE REALLY ON DIFFERENT PATHS.
SUSAN B. ANTHONY IS GOING THE PATH THAT WE KNOW AS THE PATH OF WOMEN'S HISTORY, TOWARD THE VOTE.
ELIZABETH CADY STANTON GOES IN THE PATH OF FREE THOUGHT, IN THE PATH OF RELIGIOUS FREEDOM, AND I THINK AS THEY MOVE IN THOSE DIFFERENT DIRECTIONS, THERE'S LESS...CONTACT, THERE'S LESS... HEART-TO-HEART CONNECTION.
Narrator: THE BONDS OF AFFECTION BETWEEN THE TWO WOMEN WERE STRAINED, BUT DID NOT BREAK.
Stanton: IF THERE IS ONE PART OF MY LIFE WHICH GIVES ME MORE INTENSE SATISFACTION THAN ANOTHER IT IS MY FRIENDSHIP OF MORE THAN 40 YEARS' STANDING WITH SUSAN B. ANTHONY.
EMERSON SAYS, "IT IS BETTER TO BE A THORN IN THE SIDE OF YOUR FRIEND THAN HIS ECHO."
IF THIS ADDS WEIGHT AND STABILITY TO FRIENDSHIP, THEN OURS WILL ENDURE FOREVER, FOR WE HAVE INDEED BEEN THORNS IN THE SIDE OF EACH OTHER.
I HAVE HAD NO PEACE FOR 40 YEARS, SINCE THE DAY WE STARTED TOGETHER ON THE SUFFRAGE EXPEDITION IN SEARCH OF WOMAN'S PLACE IN THE NATIONAL CONSTITUTION.
SHE HAS KEPT ME ON THE WARPATH, AT THE POINT OF THE BAYONET SO LONG, THAT I HAVE OFTEN WISHED MY UNTIRING CO-ADJUTOR MIGHT, LIKE ELIJAH, BE TRANSLATED A FEW YEARS BEFORE I WAS SUMMONED... THAT I MIGHT SPEND THE SUNSET OF MY LIFE IN SOME QUIET CHIMNEY CORNER AND LAG SUPERFLUOUS ON THE STAGE NO LONGER.
Griffith: IN A WAY, STANTON IS ACTING OUT THE "SOLITUDE OF SELF."
SHE'S BEING HER OWN BEST SELF IN HER OLD AGE.
SHE DIDN'T LIVE LONG ENOUGH TO UNDERSTAND, UM, HOW IT WOULD PLAY INTO THIS CENTURY-- THAT NO ONE WOULD KNOW HER NAME, THAT THE MOST IMPORTANT WOMAN IN 19th-CENTURY AMERICA-- THE PERSON WHO WROTE THE DECLARATION OF RIGHTS AND SENTIMENTS, WHO LAUNCHES THE SUFFRAGE CAMPAIGN, WHO DRAFTS THE AGENDA FOR WOMEN'S RIGHTS, ON WHICH WE ARE STILL WORKING-- WILL BE A NAME NO ONE KNOWS.
Narrator: IN JUNE OF 1902, ANTHONY MADE A BRIEF CALL ON STANTON IN NEW YORK.
WHEN ANTHONY WAS READY TO LEAVE, SHE EMBRACED HER OLD FRIEND AND BEGAN TO WEEP.
"SHALL I SEE YOU AGAIN?"
SHE ASKED.
"OH, YES," STANTON ANSWERED, "IF NOT HERE, THEN IN THE HEREAFTER-- IF THERE IS ONE-- AND IF THERE ISN'T, WE SHALL NEVER KNOW IT."
THEY AGREED THAT ANTHONY WOULD RETURN FOR STANTON'S 87th BIRTHDAY IN NOVEMBER.
ANTHONY WENT HOME TO ROCHESTER.
STANTON WAS IMMOBILIZED AND VIRTUALLY BLIND NOW AND CHRONICALLY SHORT OF BREATH, BUT SHE WAS STILL FULL OF STRONG OPINIONS.
Griffith: SO THE BODY IS WEAK BUT THE MIND IS KEEN, AND SHE'S AS ALERT AS EVER.
SHE SPENDS HER DAY ENTERTAINING FAMILY AND FRIENDS.
REPORTERS COME, AND SHE SITS AT THE DINING ROOM TABLE AND BAKES A CAKE SITTING DOWN.
SHE PLAYS THE PIANO.
SHE CONTINUES TO WRITE.
TWO DAYS BEFORE SHE DIES, SHE WILL WRITE TO TEDDY ROOSEVELT AND THE NEXT DAY TO MRS. ROOSEVELT-- KNOWING WHERE THE LETTER SHOULD PROBABLY REALLY GO-- WANTING HIM TO INCLUDE SUFFRAGE IN THE STATE OF THE UNION.
Narrator: ON SUNDAY MORNING, OCTOBER 26, SHE ASKED HER DAUGHTER HARRIOT TO HELP HER STAND.
Harriot: I PLACED A TABLE FOR HER TO REST HER HANDS ON.
SHE DREW HERSELF UP VERY ERECT ... AND THERE SHE STOOD-- 7 OR 8 MINUTES-- STEADILY LOOKING OUT PROUDLY BEFORE HER.
I THINK SHE WAS MENTALLY MAKING AN ADDRESS.
WHEN WE URGED HER TO SIT DOWN, SHE FELL ASLEEP.
Narrator: THE NEXT DAY, A WESTERN UNION MESSENGER KNOCKED AT THE DOOR OF SUSAN B. ANTHONY'S ROCHESTER HOME.
HER SECRETARY CARRIED THE TELEGRAM UP TO HER EMPLOYER'S ROOM.
ANTHONY READ IT SILENTLY, THEN HER HANDS DROPPED TO HER LAP.
Barry: WHEN SUSAN B. ANTHONY LEARNED THAT ELIZABETH CADY STANTON DIED, IT WAS AS IF THE WORLD STOOD STILL.
SHE WAS AT HOME.
THE OTHER WOMEN WHO WERE THERE WITH HER WERE ALL VERY WORRIED ABOUT TELLING HER AND VERY WORRIED ABOUT HER REACTION... AND I THINK THAT'S THE WAY THAT YOU CAN SAY IT-- IT IS AS IF THE WORLD STOOD STILL.
THERE WAS A SUDDEN SILENCE AND A SILENCE THAT WOULD ALWAYS BE SILENT FOR HER.
Sherr: SHE DIDN'T TALK FOR A PERIOD.
SHE JUST SAT THERE, ALONE IN A ROOM.
THIS WAS THE WOMAN WITH WHOM SHE HAD SPENT 50 YEARS OF HER LIFE.
THESE WOMEN...HAD MADE MIRACLES HAPPEN, AND THEY TRULY LOVED EACH OTHER.
I THINK THE NEWSPAPER HEADLINE THE NEXT DAY SAID IT ALL.
HERE WAS AN OBITUARY ABOUT A VERY FAMOUS WOMAN-- ELIZABETH CADY STANTON-- AND PART OF THE HEADLINE SAID, "ANTHONY LEFT BEHIND."
Narrator: SUSAN B. ANTHONY WAS ON THE TRAIN TO NEW YORK CITY THE VERY NEXT DAY FOR THE PRIVATE FUNERAL.
ELIZABETH CADY STANTON HAD PLANNED EVERYTHING IN ADVANCE.
"I SHOULD LIKE TO BE IN MY ORDINARY DRESS," SHE'D SAID, "NO CREPE OR BLACK, "NO FRIPPERIES OR FANDANGOS, AND SOME COMMONSENSE WOMEN TO CONDUCT THE SERVICES."
THE MAHOGANY TABLE ON WHICH STANTON HAD WRITTEN THE DECLARATION OF SENTIMENTS THAT LAUNCHED THE SUFFRAGE MOVEMENT STOOD AT THE HEAD OF HER CASKET.
AND ON THE CASKET ITSELF, SURROUNDED BY FLOWERS, STOOD A FRAMED PHOTOGRAPH OF THE WOMAN WHO HAD BEEN HER STRONGEST ALLY AND HER CLOSEST FRIEND.
Anthony: IT IS AN AWFUL HUSH.
IT SEEMS IMPOSSIBLE THAT THE VOICE IS HUSHED THAT I LONGED TO HEAR FOR 50 YEARS, LONGED TO HEAR HER OPINION OF THINGS BEFORE I KNEW EXACTLY WHERE I STOOD.
IT IS ALL AT SEA, BUT THE LAWS OF NATURE ARE STILL GOING ON.
WHAT A WORLD IT IS.
IT GOES RIGHT ON AND ON, NO MATTER WHO LIVES OR WHO DIES.
Narrator: SUSAN B. ANTHONY SOLDIERED ON ALONE.
SHE JOURNEYED AGAIN BY RAIL TO CALIFORNIA AND OREGON, WHERE SHE DEDICATED A STATUE TO SACAGAWEA, THE SHOSHONE INDIAN WOMAN WHO HAD GUIDED LEWIS AND CLARK ON THEIR JOURNEY TO THE PACIFIC.
"I FEEL," ANTHONY TOLD A FRIEND WHO WORRIED ABOUT HER HEALTH, "IT WOULD BE JUST AS WELL IF I REACHED THE END ON THE CARS AS AT HOME."
IN 1906, SHE WAS FINALLY FORCED TO SLOW DOWN.
HER HEART HAD WEAKENED.
SHE SUFFERED DIZZY SPELLS...
BUT SHE WAS STILL DETERMINED TO ATTEND THE ANNUAL CONVENTION AT BALTIMORE.
SHE HAD ONLY MISSED ONE CONVENTION SINCE THE CIVIL WAR, AND SHE WASN'T GOING TO MISS THIS ONE.
A HOWLING BLIZZARD GRIPPED ROCHESTER AS SHE LEFT FOR THE TRAIN STATION, AND SHE DEVELOPED A COLD.
THE RAILROAD JOURNEY ALMOST KILLED HER.
SHE ARRIVED EXHAUSTED-- WRACKED BY AGONIZING NEURALGIA, TOO WEAK TO ATTEND MOST OF THE SESSIONS.
FEBRUARY 15th WAS HER 86th BIRTHDAY, AND THE LAST DAY OF THE CONVENTION WAS GIVEN OVER TO ITS CELEBRATION.
TRIBUTES POURED IN FROM ALL OVER THE COUNTRY AND AROUND THE WORLD.
THERE WAS EVEN A MESSAGE FROM THE PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES.
THEODORE ROOSEVELT CONGRATULATED ANTHONY AND EXPRESSED HIS "HEARTY GOOD WISHES FOR THE CONTINUATION OF HER USEFUL AND HONORABLE LIFE."
ANTHONY WAS UNIMPRESSED.
"I WISH THE MEN WOULD DO SOMETHING BESIDES EXTEND CONGRATULATIONS," SHE SAID.
"I WOULD RATHER HAVE HIM SAY A WORD TO CONGRESS THAN TO PRAISE ME ENDLESSLY."
AT THE END OF THE EVENING, ANTHONY MADE HER FRAIL WAY TO THE PODIUM TO THANK THE DELEGATES FOR ALL THE KIND THINGS THAT HAD BEEN SAID ABOUT HER.
ANNA HOWARD SHAW, ONE OF HER BEST-LOVED "NIECES" AND NOW PRESIDENT OF THE NATIONAL AMERICAN HELPED HER REMAIN UPRIGHT.
SUSAN B. ANTHONY KNEW IT WOULD BE HER LAST SPEECH, AND SHE WANTED TO ENSURE THAT ALL THOSE PRESENT WOULD CONTINUE THE FIGHT.
Anthony: I NEVER SAW THAT GREAT WOMAN, MARY WOLLSTONECRAFT, BUT I HAVE READ HER ELOQUENT AND UNANSWERABLE ARGUMENTS ON BEHALF OF THE LIBERTY OF WOMANKIND.
I HAVE MET AND KNOWN MOST OF THE PROGRESSIVE WOMEN WHO CAME AFTER HER-- LUCRETIA MOTT, LUCY STONE... ELIZABETH CADY STANTON-- A LONG GALAXY OF GREAT WOMEN.
I WISH I COULD NAME EVERY ONE, BUT WITH SUCH WOMEN CONSECRATING THEIR LIVES, FAILURE IS IMPOSSIBLE.
Narrator: TWO DAYS LATER, SHE RETURNED HOME TO ROCHESTER, SO WEAK THAT IT WAS A FULL DAY BEFORE SHE FELT STRONG ENOUGH TO CLIMB THE STAIRS TO HER ROOM.
SHE WOULD NEVER LEAVE IT.
Barnum: THE NURSE AND THE DOCTOR, EVERYONE WAS CONSUMED BY CARING FOR SUSAN B. ANTHONY, BUT ALSO KNOWING THAT SOMETHING WAS SLIPPING AWAY.
SOMETHING WOULD BE MISSING-- SOMETHING GREAT AND NOT JUST IN THAT SMALL ROOM, IN THIS SMALL HOUSE, IN THIS CITY, BUT IN THE COUNTRY...
IN THE WORLD.
THE PASSING OF SOMEONE WHO...
CAUSED GREAT CHANGE, BUT INFLUENCED SO MANY PEOPLE AND, UM, ON SUCH A PERSONAL LEVEL THAT IT WOULD BE FELT SO DEEPLY, AND--BUT FOR THOSE IN THAT ROOM WHO-- WHO LOVED HER, IT WAS, UM, IT WAS ALMOST UNBEARABLE.
Narrator: "JUST THINK," ANTHONY TOLD ANNA HOWARD SHAW, "I HAVE BEEN STRIVING FOR OVER 60 YEARS "FOR A LITTLE BIT OF JUSTICE NO BIGGER THAN THAT, "AND YET I MUST DIE WITHOUT OBTAINING IT.
IT SEEMS SO CRUEL."
SHE DRIFTED IN AND OUT OF CONSCIOUSNESS, SOMETIMES MUMBLING THE NAMES OF SUFFRAGISTS SHE'D KNOWN.
"THEY ALL SEEMED TO FILE PAST HER DYING EYES THAT DAY IN AN ENDLESS, SHADOWY REVIEW," SHAW REMEMBERED, "AND AS THEY WENT BY, SHE SPOKE TO EACH OF THEM."
"THEY ARE STILL PASSING BEFORE ME," ANTHONY WHISPERED, "FACE AFTER FACE, HUNDREDS AND HUNDREDS OF THEM.
"I KNOW HOW HARD THEY HAVE WORKED.
I KNOW THE SACRIFICES THEY HAVE MADE."
Sherr: AND AT THE VERY END, ANNA HOWARD SHAW WRITES THAT SHE HELD SUSAN B. ANTHONY'S HAND IN HERS AND WATCHED HER UNTIL SHE SLIPPED AWAY.
Narrator: AT 12:40 A.M. ON TUESDAY, MARCH 13, 1906, SUSAN B. ANTHONY DIED.
HER FUNERAL WAS HELD AT THE CENTRAL PRESBYTERIAN CHURCH IN ROCHESTER.
DESPITE A SNOWSTORM, THOUSANDS OF PEOPLE CAME, OVERFLOWING THE CHURCH.
MOST OF THE MOURNERS WERE WOMEN.
THE REVEREND ANNA HOWARD SHAW DELIVERED THE EULOGY.
Shaw: THERE IS NO DEATH FOR SUCH AS SHE.
THAT WHICH SEEMS DEATH TO OUR UNSEEING EYES IS TO HER TRANSLATION.
HER WORK WILL NOT BE FINISHED, NOR WILL HER LAST WORD BE SPOKEN, WHILE THERE REMAINS A WRONG TO BE RIGHTED OR A FETTERED LIFE TO BE FREED IN ALL THE EARTH... YOU DO WELL TO STREW HER BIER WITH PALMS OF VICTORY AND TO CROWN HER WITH UNFADING LAUREL... FOR NEVER DID A MORE VICTORIOUS HERO ENTER INTO REST.
Narrator: YEARS BEFORE AT A REUNION IN ADAMS, MASSACHUSETTS, SUSAN B. ANTHONY TURNED TO HER FAMILY AND MADE A REQUEST.
Anthony: WHEN IT IS A FUNERAL, REMEMBER THAT I WANT THERE SHOULD BE NO TEARS.
PASS ON, AND GO ON WITH THE WORK.
Catt: TO GET THE WORD "MALE" OUT OF THE CONSTITUTION COST THE WOMEN OF THE COUNTRY YEARS OF PAUSELESS CAMPAIGN.
HUNDREDS OF WOMEN GAVE THE ACCUMULATED POSSIBILITIES OF AN ENTIRE LIFETIME.
THOUSANDS GAVE CONSTANT INTEREST AND SUCH AID AS THEY COULD.
IT WAS A CONTINUOUS, SEEMINGLY ENDLESS CHAIN OF ACTIVITY.
YOUNG SUFFRAGISTS, WHO HELPED FORGE THE LAST LINKS OF THAT CHAIN, WERE NOT BORN WHEN IT BEGAN.
OLD SUFFRAGISTS, WHO FORGED THE FIRST LINKS, WERE DEAD WHEN IT ENDED.
Narrator: IT WOULD TAKE AMERICAN WOMEN 14 MORE YEARS TO REALIZE THE DREAM OF ELIZABETH CADY STANTON AND SUSAN B. ANTHONY-- 14 YEARS DURING WHICH THE WOMEN OF AUSTRALIA, NEW ZEALAND, FINLAND, NORWAY, THE SOVIET UNION, CANADA, GERMANY, GREAT BRITAIN, AUSTRIA, POLAND, AND CZECHOSLOVAKIA ALL WON THE VOTE.
IN THE SPRING OF 1919, FIRST THE HOUSE AND THEN THE SENATE FINALLY PASSED THE 19th AMENDMENT-- WORD FOR WORD THE SAME AMENDMENT SUSAN B. ANTHONY AND ELIZABETH CADY STANTON HAD SUBMITTED TO CONGRESS 45 YEARS BEFORE.
BUT CARRIE CHAPMAN CATT, NOW PRESIDENT OF THE NATIONAL WOMAN SUFFRAGE ASSOCIATION, DID NOT REJOICE.
SHE KNEW SHE STILL FACED AN UPHILL STRUGGLE.
CATT AND HER FORCES HAD TO PERSUADE 36 OF THE 48 STATES TO RATIFY THE NEW AMENDMENT.
AFTER MONTHS OF INTENSE POLITICAL MANEUVERING, IT ALL CAME DOWN TO ONE STATE--TENNESSEE.
NO ONE WAS SURE WHAT WOULD HAPPEN.
LEGISLATORS WHO HAD SEEMED SOLIDLY FOR WOMAN'S SUFFRAGE SUDDENLY FELL SILENT OR FLED TO THE OPPOSITION OR SIMPLY GOT OUT OF TOWN.
ON AUGUST 18, 1920, ROSES FILLED THE TENNESSEE HOUSE CHAMBER-- YELLOW FOR SUFFRAGE, RED FOR THOSE WHO OPPOSED IT.
BELIEVING THEY HAD ENOUGH VOTES, THE ANTIS MOVED TO TABLE THE AMENDMENT, BUT THEY HAD MISCOUNTED, AND THERE WAS A TIE.
SUFFRAGE WOULD STAY ALIVE AT LEAST LONG ENOUGH TO BE VOTED UPON.
THE SUFFRAGISTS NEEDED ONE MORE VOTE, AND AS THE FATEFUL ROLL CALL BEGAN, THEY HAD NO IDEA WHERE IT MIGHT COME FROM.
HARRY BURN, FROM McMINN COUNTY-- THE YOUNGEST MAN IN THE LEGISLATURE--WAS CAUTIOUS.
MOST OF HIS CONSTITUENTS WERE AGAINST VOTES FOR WOMEN AND HE HAD COME INTO THE CHAMBER THAT MORNING WITH A RED ROSE IN HIS BUTTONHOLE, BUT HE ALSO CARRIED FOLDED IN HIS POCKET A LETTER FROM HIS MOTHER.
Mother: DEAR SON, VOTE FOR SUFFRAGE AND DON'T KEEP THEM IN DOUBT.
I NOTICE SOME OF THE SPEECHES AGAINST.
THEY WERE VERY BITTER.
I HAVE BEEN WATCHING TO SEE HOW YOU STOOD, BUT HAVE NOT SEEN ANYTHING YET.
DON'T FORGET TO BE A GOOD BOY.
WITH LOTS OF LOVE, MAMA.
Narrator: WHEN THE ROLL CALL REACHED HIM, HARRY BURN VOTED TO RATIFY.
HIS SINGLE VOTE ENDED 72 YEARS OF PAINFUL STRUGGLE.
THE 19th AMENDMENT WAS NOW LAW.
WOMEN SUFFRAGE HAD AT LAST BEEN WRITTEN INTO THE CONSTITUTION, AND THE GOAL THAT HAD FIRST BEEN PROPOSED IN SENECA FALLS IN 1848 HAD BEEN REACHED.
ASKED TO EXPLAIN HIMSELF LATER, HARRY BURN SAID SIMPLY, "I KNOW THAT A MOTHER'S ADVICE IS ALWAYS SAFEST FOR A BOY TO FOLLOW."
BAND PLAYING [STARS AND STRIPES FOREVER] Narrator: IN WASHINGTON, D.C., ALICE PAUL, THE FOUNDER OF THE NEW WOMAN'S PARTY, HAD STITCHED A STAR ON A BANNER AS EACH STATE WENT FOR RATIFICATION.
NOW, SHE SEWED ON THE LAST STAR AND TRIUMPHANTLY UNFURLED IT FROM THE BALCONY OF THE PARTY'S HEADQUARTERS.
[WOMEN LAUGHING] Griffith: ELIZABETH CADY STANTON WOULD HAVE BEEN JUBILANT THAT IT HAD WON, THAT IT WAS A CONSTITUTIONAL AMENDMENT.
SHE ALWAYS SAID, I THOUGHT POIGNANTLY, THAT "THIS IS WINTER WHEAT WE'RE SOWING, AND OTHER HANDS WILL HARVEST," SO THE CULMINATION, THE PASSAGE OF THE 19th AMENDMENT, WAS THE HARVEST.
THEY HAD FINALLY WON.
Sherr: SUSAN B. ANTHONY WOULD HAVE HAD TWO REACTIONS: I THINK SHE WOULD HAVE BEEN OVERJOYED, DELIRIOUS, DELIGHTED, AND THEN, I THINK SHE WOULD HAVE SAID, "WHAT MUST WE DO NEXT?"
Elderly woman: WE HAD WORKED SO LONG.
WE HAD WORKED SO HARD.
WE HAD NEVER THOUGHT IT WOULD HAPPEN.
I THINK I WENT WITH MY MOTHER, YOU KNOW, NOW--SHE WOULD SORT OF GUIDE ME AND, UH, AND WAS EVEN MORE THRILLED.
I MEAN, SHE'D WORKED LONGER THAN I HAD.
WE WENT TO A BOOTH, AND I REMEMBER PULLING THE CURTAIN, BUT--AND I'M SURE IT WAS A WRITTEN BALLOT, AND WE DROPPED A BALLOT INTO A BOX, AND THAT WAS IT...
SO I CAST A REPUBLICAN VOTE, AND MY VOTE THAT DAY WAS FOR WARREN G. HARDING.
Dyk: I WAS TERRIBLY FRIGHTENED.
I WAS TERRIBLY FRIGHTENED THAT I WOULD PUSH THE WRONG LEVER.
I STILL GO INTO THAT BOOTH WITH THE SAME FEELING.
WHAT IF I VOTE REPUBLICAN?
HA HA HA HA!
OH, I WAS PROUD.
I HAD JUST BEEN GRADUATED FROM COLLEGE, AND UP THERE WE WERE TAUGHT THE SLOGAN, "NOT FOR OURSELVES ALONE, BUT THAT WE MUST TEACH OTHERS," AND I FELT THIS WAS SOMETHING I COULD DO FOR MY COUNTRY, AND I WAS VERY HAPPY ABOUT IT.
Narrator: AS MILLIONS OF AMERICAN WOMEN WENT TO THE POLLS FOR THE FIRST TIME THAT FALL, ONLY THE OLDEST AMONG THEM COULD REMEMBER THE TWO EXTRAORDINARY WOMEN WHO HAD MADE IT POSSIBLE.
Griffith: IT'S VIEWED AS REMARKABLE THAT THIS EVEN HAPPENED BECAUSE WE ARE ALL STILL LEGACIES OF THAT "CULT OF TRUE WOMANHOOD."
WE STILL THINK OF WOMEN AS NOT QUITE EQUAL, NOT QUITE THE SAME AS.
AND SO THIS ENORMOUS MOVEMENT, ENFRANCHISING HALF THE POPULATION, LED BY WOMEN IS DEMEANED BY THE SOCIETY AS A WHOLE.
WE DON'T THINK OF IT AS SIGNIFICANT BECAUSE WOMEN DID IT.
SUFFRAGE IS THE EXPANSION OF THE FRANCHISE.
IT'S WHAT JACKSONIAN DEMOCRACY DID NOT DO.
JACKSONIAN DEMOCRACY GETS A CHAPTER AND A HALF IN MOST AMERICAN HISTORY BOOKS, AND SENECA FALLS MAYBE GETS AN ILLUSTRATION.
THIS IS MAJOR CHANGE IN AMERICA-- THE EXPANSION OF THE FRANCHISE FOR WOMEN-- AND THEN IT LAYS THE GROUNDWORK FOR HOW THE CIVIL RIGHTS MOVEMENT WILL FOLLOW-- SIMILAR KINDS OF AGITATION, SIMILAR KINDS OF LEADERSHIP-- SO IT IS AN ENORMOUSLY SIGNIFICANT PIECE OF HISTORY THAT BOTH TOUCHES MEN AND WOMEN, AND IS AFFECTED BY MEN AND WOMEN.
Dyk: I MEAN, IF YOU HAD WORKED FOR YEARS TO DO IT, IF YOU BELIEVED IN IT, IF YOU THOUGHT GREAT THINGS WERE GOING TO COME OUT OF IT... GREAT IN TERMS OF THE POSITION OF WOMEN IN OUR CULTURE, POSITION OF WOMEN IN THEIR JOBS, POSITION OF WOMEN EVERYWHERE-- AND THIS WAS GOING TO IMPROVE THAT...
SO IT WAS NOT ONLY A POLITICAL THING, BUT IT ALSO WAS A PERSONAL THING.
I MEAN, LIVES WOULD BE CHANGED, YOU SEE.
LIVES WOULD BE CHANGED.
UH-HUH...
BUT, UH...
I'M AFRAID THEY HAVEN'T BEEN CHANGED AS MUCH AS WE HOPED FOR.
UH-HUH.
Anthony: MY DEAR MRS. STANTON... WE LITTLE DREAMED WHEN WE BEGAN THIS CONTEST, OPTIMISTIC WITH THE HOPE AND BUOYANCY OF YOUTH, THAT HALF A CENTURY LATER, WE WOULD BE COMPELLED TO LEAVE THE FINISH OF THE BATTLE TO ANOTHER GENERATION OF WOMEN.
THESE STRONG YOUNG WOMEN WILL TAKE OUR PLACE AND COMPLETE OUR WORK.
THERE IS AN ARMY OF THEM, WHERE WE WERE BUT A HANDFUL.
AND WE, DEAR OLD FRIEND, SHALL MOVE ON TO THE NEXT SPHERE OF EXISTENCE-- HIGHER AND LARGER, WE CANNOT FAIL TO BELIEVE-- AND ONE WHERE WOMEN WILL NOT BE PLACED IN AN INFERIOR POSITION, BUT WILL BE WELCOMED ON A PLANE OF PERFECT INTELLECTUAL AND SPIRITUAL EQUALITY.
EVER LOVINGLY YOURS... SUSAN B. ANTHONY.
CAPTIONING MADE POSSIBLE BY GENERAL MOTORS
